For
Sunday, January 14, 2024, Readings: 1 Samuel 3:1-20, Ps 139:1-5,
12-17; 1 Cor 6:12-20, John 1:43-51
[SsAM
Parish4 readings,
see below: The Rt. Rev Quintin E. Primo, Jr.*, The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. **]
Lord you have searched me out and
known me; you know my sitting down and my rising up; you discern my thoughts
from afar...You trace my journeys and my resting- places and are acquainted
with all my ways. Indeed there is now a word on my lips, but you O Lord,
know it altogether...Your eyes beheld my limbs, yet unfinished in the
womb... [Psalm
139:1-2, 15a]
But anyone united to the Lord becomes one spirit
with him...do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ...do you not
know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have
from God, and that you are not your own? [1 Corinthians 6:15a, 17, 19]
Nathanael said to [Philip], "Can
anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and
see..." And [Jesus] said to [Nathanael], "Very truly, I tell you, you
will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the
Son of Man." [John 1:46, 51]
[What we are doing at this moment is a symbol of what black and
white people must continue to do as we offer our lives to be instruments for
bringing the Kingdom of God reality on earth. ~The Rt. Rev. Quintin E. Primo, Jr.]
[Before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, we were here. Before
the pen of Jefferson scratched across the pages of history the majestic words
of the Declaration of Independence, we were here. For more than two centuries
our foreparents labored here without wages; they made cotton king; and they
built the homes of their masters in the midst of brutal injustice and shameful
humiliation -- and yet out of a bottomless vitality our people continue to
thrive and develop. ~Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.]
4These Prayers of the
People were originally commissioned in 2013 by The Rev. David Andrews, then
Rector of The Episcopal Church of Saints Andrew and Matthew (SsAM) in
Wilmington, Delaware. They continue to be used by the Parish that in 2021
celebrated the 25th Anniversary of the blending of a traditionally white
parish ~ St. Andrew's, founded in 1829, and a traditionally African-American
parish ~ St. Matthew's, that began in 1846. St. Matthew’s was founded in the
lower level of St. Andrew's as the Robert Smith Sunday School until it became
St. Matthew's Parish in its own location in 1891. Much later, in the racially
fraught year of 1968 after Dr. King’s assassination, Bishop Quintin Primo,
then an African-American Episcopal Vicar, guided St. Matthew's from mission
status to full parish status and lived to see the joyous union of these two
parishes into one. As many of us were privileged to know him personally, we are
pleased to celebrate his life and prophetic voice this day along with the
vibrant legacy of The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther, King, Jr. The selections from
Bishop Primo's autobiography and from Dr. King (below) are SsAM's readings with the Psalm on
this Sunday and will be read by the late Bishop Primo’s daughter, Cynthia, a
member of SsAM. To learn more about the historical significance and current
mission of SsAM click here: www.ssam.org
We're all invited, we've all been called ~ what is our RSVP?
I think of young Samuel, confused and wondering, and then, following his
instructions from Eli, he answered with Speak, Lord, for your servant
is listening. Later he grew into a trustworthy prophet of the
Lord. Would it be easier to be like young Samuel again, merely
following the instructions of an elder? Well, most of us were at one time, many
still are in a way, and a very rare few of us have become a trustworthy
prophet. Perhaps there’s more than merely following the directions to
receive the tingle in our ears when God speaks to us. Perhaps we also need to
remember that God knew Samuel, and Eli, and all that was going on. What does
God know about me ~ everything!
There are many Psalms that resonate within me and Psalm 139, particularly,
always has a profound effect on me when I read it. There is my Creator, my
Divine Parent, who knew me while my limbs were being knitted in the womb
and still traces my journeys and my resting-places. Sometimes,
admittedly when I’m not at my best (too often), my inner child tries
to lie lower as if not to be seen or heard by that Parent, especially when some
words on my lips are, well, frankly, quite far from God-like. And then Paul
reminds us that our bodies are members of Christ and a
temple of the Holy Spirit. It’s far easier to intend to live up to those
holy standards than to actually do so, and then I remember that God knows me,
more than I know about me or want to.
Could I have been like Philip, readily follow Jesus and then invite the
slightly snarky Nathanael to simply "Come and see" as Jesus, reminds
Nathanael of the Jacob’s Ladder passage [Genesis 28:10-17] as the angels were
ascending and descending only in this version upon the Son of Man.
I show up at church regularly, even now that it’s also online. I give to
charity, do occasional good deeds for others, I even pray often and not just
for Divine intervention to get myself out of a jam. But, taking in the readings
for this Sunday ~ have I really answered THE CALL? Have I turned my life over to
God, truly followed Jesus, and listened to the Holy Spirit? Well, God
knows.
It is time again to consider how I am to live my life. It is almost never
too late to begin again ~ even Constantine, the first Roman Emperor to claim
conversion to Christianity, declared Christianity as a state religion, built
the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, the Old St Peter's Basilica,
convened the Council of Nicaea in the year 325 from which we still use the
Nicene Creed ~ all that, yet, he wouldn’t be baptized until his death bed,
because, well, he might want to do some things so he cut it pretty close! Then
there’s St. Augustine of Hippo who said in his Confessions [written
between 397-400] that in the early days of his conversion he asked God to
make him chaste and continent (self-controlled) but not yet.
SO, when does YET arrive? Or, how many times have I waved it away? God
knows.
What will it mean for my life, how will I have to change, what will
others think, am I ready? Yes, God knows all about who and where I am. And as I
form the words in my heart: Speak, Lord, for I, that is, ~ um, er ~
your (slightly frightened) servant, is listening. I think
that maybe, possibly, I'm more or less ready to come and see what I’m
called to be and do.
And then, when I read these words of Bishop Quintin Primo: What we are doing at this moment is a symbol of what black and
white people must continue to do as we offer our lives to be instruments for
bringing the Kingdom of God reality on earth; and Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr.: because the sacred heritage of our nation and the eternal will of
God are embodied in our echoing demands, suddenly I feel a sudden tingle
beyond my ears that tells me “yet” has more than merely arrived! Oh my…Ok,
Samuel, and Philip, Nathanael, Quintin, and Martin, walk with me, too. And,
just maybe I'll even be able to pass along the tingling to someone
else to come, to see, to be and to DO!
*The Making of a
Black Bishop by the Rt. Rev. Quintin E. Primo, Jr., Pub 2006:
The day of the yearly (Diocesan) Convention
arrived. Presenting to the assemblage
our (St. Matthew's) formal application to become a self-supporting unit of the
diocese, the Rev. Canon James Birney, program developer/director for the
diocese, spoke most eloquently, "What we are doing at this moment is a
symbol of what black and white people must continue to do as we offer our lives
to be instruments for bringing the Kingdom of God reality on earth. For the past 122 years, the white
congregations have patronizingly supported the black mission of St.
Matthew's. Today, when black men
everywhere are breaking the bonds of patronage which we hope are the last
remnants of slavery and inequality, the people of St. Matthew's now both black
and white, are freeing themselves and this Diocese from bondage to each
other. Subservience and patronage are
both gone. The congregation is free and
the Diocese is free. And being free, we
are both free to be One. What binds us
together now is our common loyalty to Jesus Christ and to this branch of his
Church.
** Letter
from a Birmingham Jail by The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 1963
In the midst of a mighty struggle to rid our nation of
racial and economic injustice, I have heard so many ministers say, "Those
are social issues which the gospel has nothing to do with," and I have
watched so many churches commit themselves to a completely otherworldly
religion which made a strange distinction between bodies and souls, the sacred
and the secular. There was a time when the church was very powerful. It was
during that period that the early Christians rejoiced when they were deemed
worthy to suffer for what they believed. In those days the church was not
merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion;
it was the thermostat that transformed the mores of society.
Wherever the
early Christians entered a town the power structure got disturbed and
immediately sought to convict them for being "disturbers of the
peace" and "outside agitators." But they went on with the
conviction that they were "a colony of heaven" and had to obey God
rather than man. They were small in number but big in commitment. They were too
God-intoxicated to be "astronomically intimidated." They brought an
end to such ancient evils as infanticide and gladiatorial contest. Things are
different now. The contemporary church is so often a weak, ineffectual voice
with an uncertain sound. It is so often the arch supporter of the status quo.
Far from
being disturbed by the presence of the church, the power structure of the
average community is consoled by the church's often vocal sanction of things as
they are. But the judgment of God is upon the church as never before. If the
church of today does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church,
it will lose its authentic ring, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be
dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentieth
century. I meet young people every day whose disappointment with the church has
risen to outright disgust. I hope the church as a whole will meet the challenge
of this decisive hour. But even if the church does not come to the aid of
justice, I have no despair about the future. I have no fear about the outcome
of our struggle in Birmingham, even if our motives are presently misunderstood.
We will reach
the goal of freedom in Birmingham and all over the nation, because the goal of
America is freedom. Abused and scorned though we may be, our destiny is tied up
with the destiny of America. Before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, we were
here. Before the pen of Jefferson scratched across the pages of history the
majestic words of the Declaration of Independence, we were here. For more than
two centuries our foreparents labored here without wages; they made cotton
king; and they built the homes of their masters in the midst of brutal
injustice and shameful humiliation -- and yet out of a bottomless vitality our
people continue to thrive and develop. If the inexpressible cruelties of
slavery could not stop us, the opposition we now face will surely fail. We will
win our freedom because the sacred heritage of our nation and the eternal will
of God are embodied in our echoing demands.
LET
US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY
Leader: ~ All-Knowing,
All-Seeing God, You have searched us and known us from before we were in the womb
and throughout our earthly lives. Tingle our ears and awaken our hearts to
remember that we are not our own but members of Christ’s Body and living
temples of Your Holy Spirit. Open us to hear again and offer our
lives to be instruments for bringing the Kingdom of God to reality on earth.
O Lord Who Calls
RESPONSE:
Help us to Listen and Answer
~ All-Knowing, All-Seeing
God, guide our path to truth, integrity, and justice in a world filled
with alienation and violence among people and nations. Grant each of us, and
the leaders of this Country, our local Communities, and this World, the wisdom
and selflessness to choose the well-being of us all, over destructive actions
of temporary earthbound-only power and greed. We pray especially
for: add your own petitions
O Lord Who Calls
Help
us to Listen and Answer
~ All-Knowing, All-Seeing
God, strengthen the faith of all who suffer from debilitating illness;
addiction, and/or depression, and of all who give them care. We now join
our hearts to pray for those in need… add your own petitions
O Lord Who Calls
Help
us to Listen and Answer
~ All-Knowing, All-Seeing God, whisper
hope to the grieving of the joy for those now released from the trials of this
life, into unbounded Glory to live again with You. We pray especially for
the word and witness of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; … add your own
petitions
O Lord Who Calls
Help
us to Listen and Answer
~ All-Knowing, All-Seeing
God, we pause in this moment to offer You our other
heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials… add
your own petitions
O Lord Who Calls
Help us to Listen and Answer
~ All-Knowing, All-Seeing God,
we give You special thanks for those lead us in Your church and guide us on our
journey to You. Grant them wisdom, insight, and hope, and guide them to
embolden us to follow and reflect You with our thoughts, words, and actions in
each and every day. We pray especially for:
O Lord Who Calls
Help us to Listen and Answer
The Celebrant adds: O God
of Power and Might, fill us with courage in seeking
the path of Christ in and beyond our personal lives, believing that by our individual
and collective actions, we shall overcome violence,
oppression, and intolerance, to establish unity and equality for all. We ask
through Your Son, Jesus our Christ; and the Holy Spirit, our Advocate; who
together with You reign as One God, One Lord of All, now and forever. Amen.
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